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The Best Style Advice We’ve Ever Heard

Last week, Hermès head menswear designer Véronique Nichanian gave us some of the best style advice we’ve ever heard as she toasted the launch of Le Manifeste, a new digital platform for the brand

Chicago is not the first American city that comes to mind when you hear the name Hermès, but that's exactly where we found them last week. The French house known for its luxury, humor, wit, and playfulness chose the city to celebrate the launch of Le Manifeste, a new digital platform that showcases their “entire universe,” as head menswear designer Véronique Nichanian put it. The platform, available for all to see on their website, is the brand’s take on lists—rather, our constant dependence on and obsession with them. “We all have a lot of to-do lists,” Nichanian said. “I have to do this, I have to do that, I have to go to the grocery store, and so on—we’re full of to-do lists. This was an idea to make a to-do list to spend time for nothing. Take your time. Slow down. Have fun, whether it’s to learn to dance, or build a sand castle, to play.” In true keeping with the Hermès spirit, Le Manifeste has plenty of curiosity and humor behind it. In fact, that was the whole point of it, to show that the brand stands for far more than an expensive scarf, tie, or belt. “People think we’re more traditional than we are; we are much less traditional than people think. This is a new way to communicate. Forget what you think about Hermès,” Nichanian told us.

We celebrated the launch out in Chicago’s West Loop inside a warehouse of an art space. There was a game show, there were dancers on treadmills (plucked straight from YouTube), and every aspect of the Hermès universe was brought to life, right down to boots hanging from the ceiling. Of course, with 27 years of designing for men under her belt, Nichanian knows her market. So right before the festivities kicked off, we asked her what she’s learned about men, style, and what she’s trying to say. That’s when she gave us the simplest, most useful style advice you can use: “I try to tell them to be themselves. Follow your instinct, and dress how you feel. Do not follow trends absolutely; not all trends will fit you.” So there you have it, straight from the lips of one of menswear’s most revered talents. Remember that the next time you’re getting dressed and something feels “off.” Or especially if it feels “on.”